Soak up the scintillating synergy of this Strat/Tele/humbucker mashup.

The new Pawn Shop series instruments draw inspiration from strange and storied pawn shop finds of the 1960s and ’70s, and emerge as all-new Fender guitars with a bold element of eccentricity—guitars that never were but could have been.

What an unknown jem! Basically a Strat with different pickup arrangement that works so much better than the old traditional three. Texas Special single coil pickup,same as in some top USA made models, is located right at the 24th fret location, for max effect. And don't believe it's weak as read above, it's just exactly like my US Strat, or better. And the humbucker at bridge sounds awesome, great tone clean and distorted, and has a coil split that actually works and doesn't just drop the volume like most others. Blame it on the Japanese factory, which is where mine was made, in about 2011. Likely they will make these somewhere else because I know my Pawn Shop Mustang is mexican. This 51 is top quality everything on it looks perfect. Action is set unbelieveably low and no buzz. Why don't the specs on ALL FENDERS include country of origin? Probably because Fender slips in the indonesia and china cheapos with no advance notice and the retailers have to be careful they don't get a bunch of returns.

Bought this as a novelty but quickly fell in love. Great guitar and after 1 year still going strong. Good for gigs or practice. I had a mini toggle put in for pickup selection ( easier to see what one your on) and a no load delta tone control for the old pickup selector knob. I like that configuration better (inexpensive job). Overall a great Fender cheapie.

I've got a Squier '51 I purchased here on closeout in 2006. Is it as good as a Fender? Using my 2004 American Deluxe Stratocaster for comparison-no. For 1/10 the price, though, it's pretty awesome and a blast to play! Been hanging onto it expecting it to become collectible and now they are going to start making them again. Some have them available for pre-order.

Let me start by saying that I own some pretty decent guitars and tend to be a bit of a tone nut. This P51 has alot of great attributes that I really appreciate. First, it's light, kind of like an SG. The balance is nice (unlike an SG) and the neck feels really nice ( a little chunkier than the normal C profile). The control knobs are in a good position unlike my stats that are always in my way. I really wish they would have incorporated a tone control but I run a boss EQ stomp box before my pedals to compensate, that way when I switch out to my LP all I have to do is turn it off. I think I will put 10s on it to take away some of the "ice pick" sounds I'm getting (hope it works). The bridge humbucker PU is really powerful in either full hum or split mode. However, the Texas special in the neck position kind of lacks character and is weak IMHO. All in all, a great guitar for the money if you can control the tone. The Japanese build quality is top notch.

Just received this blonde beauty today - a stunning guitar. The wood grain can be seen in the butterscotch finish and that aspect doesn't show up on pics. The maple fingerboard matches the color of the guitar! It was packed very well, wrapped in cushioning, placed inside the gig bag inside a box, then packed with yet another box outside. No scratches or blemishes anywhere and the fretwork is the best I've seen in a new guitar. It came out of the box nearly in tune, no fret-buzz and the intonation was off on only one string which I easily reset. Since I've only owned it two hours, I can only report that this thing sings like a bird clean and screams like a banshee when dirty. I'm getting almost no volume-drop with the coil-tapping, which is very nice. I can already tell that it'll be the first one out of the rack and in my hands at our gigs. Best part for me is the Tele neck joined to that Stratocaster tone, yes-it has the Strat sound. I have long fingers and no longer own other strats because their necks are too small. This became a problem up around the 10th-12th fret that went away with this guitar. I'll be taking some high-grit sandpaper to the back of the neck to slightly remove some of the lacquer (Otherwise I'll stick to it at outdoor gigs) but I like the tone too much to consider changing anything else yet. I've been playing over 20 years and the quality of this thing out of the box is the best I've seen. These Japanese-made guitars are VERY well constructed with attention to detail. Equal in quality in every way to my American Fender Jazzmaster and my Epiphone Les Paul that will be its stablemates. This is the best deal going out there as far as I'm concerned.

I bought this guitar based solely on the reviews, the average weight described & the fact that it was made in Japan. I have owned a number of Fenders made there and compare their quality up there with American Fenders. It also helped that I bought mine with the blonde finish at a good sale price.

If you have problems with your lower back like me, You'll appreciate that these weigh in at a very reasonable weight. Mine weighs just a shade over 7 lbs.

As I hoped, the build quality is excellent. The set up out of the box is never perfect, but this one came close. While the Texas Special neck pickup is nice for certain lead tones, I find myself playing rhythm chords on the bridge. It's truly addicting if you are interested in the Johnny Ramone and/or Malcolm Young's style. When I first plugged in I was concerned about the brightness, but after playing with the amp eq for a minute I dialed in some seriously raunchy hard rock rhythms. It nails punk & hard rock.

I highly recommend this guitar, especially now that they have stopped building them and are clearing them out. Do yourself a favor and pick one up while you can.

The only drawback is that there is no hard case for this fine instrument. Hey Fender, why don't you offer these with a hard case for another Benjamin or so?

I own the Pawnshop '51 and it has become my primary player. I own eight electric guitars, including a Hwy. 1 Strat and a vintage Tele among others. The P51 has the neck of the Tele and the Strat-style body. This makes a very comfortable, well-balanced instrument. The individual bridge saddles are a nice modern touch to the vintage vibe of the styling. The neck pickup is a single coil in the same vein as the Tele and Strat — a thin, chiming treble. This is typical vintage Fender sound. The bridge pickup is a split coil humbucker that rocks. The combination makes this guitar very versatile.

I will admit that I purchased this from an online retailer's flash sale and got an unbelievable price — less than half the MSRP. Great value.

When I started playing this guitar it made me feel like I was just an extension to the guitar. It feels so comfortable. The sounds that come out are just heavenly. I'm very happy I purchased this baby.

This guitar is in my humble opinion, a true sleeper. It has an exceptionally good feel, excellent neck and good tone out of the humbucker in the bridge position. It sounds just like what it looks like.... somewhere between a Strat and a Tele. This guitar is built in Japan, and the build quality is excellent. Fit and finish exceed that of most domestically produced instruments. The weak link in my experience is the neck pickup. It sounds sort of Tele..ish but is weak and lacks swat. The bridge pickup is clear, and has a tone that really excells in country rock tunes. Out of the box, the action and intonation were perfect. I bought the yellow/butterscotch version, which is transparent so the grain shows through the paint. It's quite striking in appearance.

If I were to get real picky, I'd like a single tone pot relacing the rotary pickup selector switch, and a 3 way toggle switch similar to a Les Paul installed on the upper bout. Overall, this is an excellent guitar for the money. It plays as good as my American Strat, and the vintage look adds to it's funky vibe.

I recently purchased a Pawnshop '51 (blond). I love the finish and feel of the guitar. The grain "just" shows through the finish. It is truly a striking guitar. The craftsmanship is great. I own an American Standard Strat, an American Tele (Highway 1), and an American Standard P-bass. They are all great instruments, but I will put this Japanese made Fender up beside them proudly. I had to set the intonation and action, but beyond that I took it out of the box and started playing it. I have to say, I am impressed with the guitar. I think it is my new favorite!